The Rivers State House of Assembly has approved the 1999 Constitution (Sixth Alteration) Bill, 2026, seeking to provide a constitutional framework for the establishment of State Police Services.
Special Assistant on Media to the Speaker, Rivers State House of Assembly, Martins Wachukwu, disclosed this in a statement on Monday, September 28, 2026, following the 54th Legislative Sitting of the House.
The approval followed the reading of a letter from the Clerk of the National Assembly by the Speaker, Rt. Hon. Martin Chike Amaewhule, in line with Section 9 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999, which provides for the procedure for constitutional alterations.
According to the statement, the Alteration Bill seeks to create a constitutional route for the establishment of State Police Services, subject to the Constitution and an Act of the National Assembly prescribing national minimum policing standards.
It also seeks to preserve the Federal Police Service as the default police service in any state until a State Police Service Commission is lawfully established and certified operational.
The Bill further leaves detailed provisions on the organisation, procedures, operational control, certification and implementation of State Police Services to subsequent Acts of the National Assembly and, where applicable, laws enacted by State Houses of Assembly.
Commenting on the Bill before putting the question, Speaker Amaewhule stressed the importance of establishing a state policing system with constitutional safeguards for civilian control, human rights, criminal information systems and the prevention of egregious abuse.
When the Speaker put the question, members voted unanimously in favour of the Bill, thereby approving it in its entirety.
Wachukwu said the approval makes the Rivers State House of Assembly one of the state legislatures to have given legislative approval to the 1999 Constitution (Sixth Alteration) Bill, 2026.
